Orphan Survival
by AnimeToonz19
Summary: It's the episode "Plight Of The Orphans", but with a different character instead of Gohan this time. Check it out!
1. Chapter 1

_Okay, I've always wanted to do a remake of this; I wanted to use my adopted OC Katie instead of Gohan. "Plight Of The Children" is my favorite and the only DBZ episode I like out of the whole series. I love it so much! Anyway, please R&R and enjoy!  
>Katie is my adopted OC.<br>I don't own Dragonball Z or anything from it._

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><p>Chapter 1: Shipwrecked And Rescued<p>

Man, talk about a hard day! After Katie left the _Bebop_, she was on her own once again and had no idea where to go. When she got to an ocean, she decided to make a raft out of whatever she could find; but, when she set sail, a storm hit and she was defenseless! Katie held on for dear life, but she was no match for the powerful winds and the unforgiving waves! However, she landed, unconscious, on the sandy shore on an unknown island. Before she came to, a young boy about her age and a 6 year-old girl saw her lying on the sand and wondered if she was alive.

The younger girl was curious, "Who is she? She doesn't look like she's from around here."

The older boy shrugged: "I don't know. She must have fallen off a ship or something." They didn't know where she came from.

The girl was cautious, "Well, don't get too close. She could be dangerous."

The boy picked up a stick and started poking Katie with it; she didn't stir.

The boy kept poking her, "She won't wake up. Huh." The storm really knocked her out.

The little girl felt worried, "Is she alive?" She looked at her brother, then back at Katie.

The boy wanted to find out, "I'd better check!"

He threw the stick away and ran to Katies' side. He bent down and puts his ear on Katies back.

The boy sighed as he looked at her, "I guess not. Too bad."

The girl was a little shocked, "Oh no! How can you tell, Rom? What did you do?"

Rom stood up and stared at his sister, "The old ear test. You mean you're 6 years old and you haven't heard of the ear test before?" Obviously, he didn't do it right.

The girl scratched her head before she answered.

The girl was slightly mad, "Yes I have!"

Rom started to look over Katie for something.

Rom looking over her, "Hmmm. It doesn't look like she has anything valuable on her."

The girl, then, sees something down the beach.

The girl was curious as she looked at her brother, "Hey look Rom! What's that?"

Rom turns around and sees Katies locket laying in the sand. Both kids run over to pick it up.

Rom was a little excited, "Oh wow! A gold locket! Cool! Check it out."

Rom picks it up and starts to examine it; he rubs the sand off and starts throwing it around. When he turned the other way as he caught it, the kids saw Katie standing in front of them! They froze in place and looked at her as if she was a zombie.

Katie sounded exhausted as she fell, "Hey. That's mine...uhhh."

She fell as the children stared at her in confusion.

Rom shrugged at that, "I guess she's dead again."

The girl turned towards him: "No she's not Rom! She woke up! We should probably take her back with us."

Rom nodded at his sister, "You're right, Chico. We'll take her back to the house, where she can rest."

He puts the locket in his pocket and helps Chico carry Katie to their house. The place itself looks like it's been through some damage; they place her in a bed and watch over her until she tried to open her eyes.

Chico sounded distant, "Keep it on, Rom. She's waking up."

Rom looked down at Katie, "Is she? You're right. Hello there!"

Katie opened her eyes and realized that she was in a bed, with two children watching over her.

Katie tried to wake up, "Hi..."

Rom was happy to see her up, "How's it going? I'm Rom."

Chico smiled at her, "And my name is Chico. Hi!"

Katie sounded tired as she spoke, "Hi. Where am I?"

Chico said, "Here."

Katie was slightly confused, "Where's here?"

Chico smiled as she explained, "Here is wherever we happen to be at the time."

Katie sat up and looked around the room. She saw that there were some blocks stacked in the corner; a small chair; some wallpaper torn off; a piano; and some drawings on the wall.

Katie didn't mind at all, "Oh. Cool."

Rom walked over to the piano.

Rom as he spoke, "It's great, isn't it? This is our house. It's free because no one wants it. Where'd you come from anyway?"

Katie shrugged at his question, "I don't know. I think it was a desert or something." The storm hit her quite hard.

Chico was kinda surprised, "Oh wow! I can't believe you're all alone."

Rom started to play some keys on the piano as the girls talked.

Rom grinned at Katie, "Not anymore. From now on, you can hang out with us. We're orphans too."

Katie couldn't believe what she heard, "What?"

Rom continued with what he said, "We only have one rule: Never cry. But, Chico breaks that rule all the time, so don't worry." Chico was embarrassed at the comment.

Chico was mad as she yelled at Rom, "I do not!"

Katie sighed at herself, "I'm Katie."

Then, Chico puts her hand on Katies shoulder.

Chico smiled as she spoke, "It's nice to meet you, Katie. Don't believe everything that Rom tells you, though. Okay? You know, you're the first new orphan ever. The rest of us have been together since the tidal wave."

Katie was speechless. Even though she wasn't entirely sure if her father was still alive, she didn't want to call herself an orphan. She didn't know if she can tell her friends the truth or not.

Rom looked at Katie, "Say whatever's on your mind, Katie. We speak freely around this place."

Katie grinned at him, "That's good. It's just that I've been alone for a while and I kinda forgot how to talk to other kids."

Rom and Chico looked at each other and just shrugged. Suddenly, Rom remembered something and reached into his pocket.

Rom held his hand out, "Oh! Here! We found this on the beach and I think it's yours."

He holds the locket out and gave it to Katie; of course, she was more than happy to have it back as she puts it around her neck.

Katie wondered about one thing, "Thank you so much! This means everything to me. Hmmm. If you don't mind me asking, what was this tidal wave that you said?"

Rom sighed as he explained, "There was a huge tidal wave about 2 years ago. Boy, when it hit, it wiped out the whole town!"

Chico looked scared, "It was so scary!"

Rom finished his story, "That's why there's a lot of kids around here without families or homes to go to."

As the kids continued their conversation, down the ruins of the village was a dark blue van coming down the road. Inside were 3 men in some uniform and a woman in glasses and a pink uniform. As they drove to the village, two of the men displayed evil grins! Who were these people and what does this have to do with Katie and the orphans? Find out in the next chapter!

To Be Continued...

End Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

_Well, as you can see, it's pretty much the same except for a few added dialogue, and a different character. Still, I hope you find this story okay._

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><p>Chapter 2: New Comrades<p>

As the kids continued to talk, the van got closer to their location. Meanwhile, Katie wanted to tell Rom and Chiko the truth about her father.

Katie cleared her throat before she spoke, "Ahem. Guys, I'm not an..."

But before she could finish, the kids hear a whistle coming from outside. Rom ran to the window to get a good look.

Rom was alert, "It's the goon squad! Let's go!" He bolted towards the door.

Chiko nodded as she was behind him, "Right!"

Rom ran out of the room with Chiko following behind him. Katie didn't know what was going on.

Katie was confused, "What's up?"

Then, Chiko turned around, grabbed Katies arm, and led her out of the room.

Chiko had to get her out, "Katie, let's go! Come on!" No time to ask questions; they had to move!

The van stopped in front of the house and the men and woman stepped out; two of the men went inside to where Rom, Chiko, and Katie were at. Back inside, Rom and Chiko started to climb the stairs as Katie tried to catch up; she looked to see if anyone was following her. Rom looked down to see if Katie was coming.

Rom spoke quietly at Katie, "Come on Katie! You're gonna get caught!"

Katie just ran up the stairs as the big man and the tall man came in. They heard the footsteps and went up to find the kids. Katie looked down, briefly, and saw the men coming up the stairs. She ran to the top where she saw Rom getting some rope ready, with Chiko holding on to him; Rom looked at Katie.

Rom spoke to her before he jumped, "I'll be right back. I'm gonna get Chiko across."

The boy tightened his grip on the rope and just swung himself and Chiko to a tree where a flat board was placed, like how they set up tree houses. Rom was about to go back for Katie, but couldn't because the two men cornered her!

Rom gasped in fear, "Uh-oh! She's a goner!"

The two men started to approach Katie with their wicked grins; she tried to back up, but can't because of the broken edge. The men got close enough to cut her off from escape!

Big Man chuckled in a smug tone, "Give it up, kid. There's nowhere to go. You're coming with us!"

Rom and Chiko looked on with horror as the men tried to grab their friend. But, Katie gave them the slip and leaped from the ledge of the building! The men and kids were amazed to see a little kid jump that high! Once Katie landed with her friends, the men still looked shocked! Rom, then, started to shout and tease at them.

Rom yelled and taunted at the men, "Take that! You big apes!"

Rom hooted and hollered like a monkey as the men grew angry.

Big Man growled at the kids, "Grrr! Those little brats! Come on!"

The men ran downstairs as the kids watched on with grins. Katie, however, was still confused on what just happened.

Katie wondered who the men were, "Who are those guys?"

Rom explained about them, "They're from the Home, where kids get spanked and yelled at. They put us in a pen if we're caught and they'll treat us like animals."

Katie was shocked from what she heard, "Sounds terrible!"

Rom nodded at the comment, "If they get you, there's no escape! You'll have to spend the rest of your days working for them and doing chores in the Home."

Chiko shook her head, "Well, not me! I'll hide from them! I will!"

Rom sighed as he looked at Katie, "They found us now. They'll come back."

Chiko started to cry, but everyone nearly jumped when they heard a scream!

A little girl screamed real loud, "Ahhhh!"

Chiko gasped as she looked down, "Oh no!"

The trio looked down and saw that the shorter man has caught a little girl and is forcing her out of hiding!

The little girl was scared, "No! No! Let go of me! Ah! Ugh! No! Ahhh!"

The short man kept pulling her arm to the van, "Be quiet! Come on!"

But, before he could force her into the van, something has whisked her away from his grasp! He turned to see a teenage boy standing protectively in front of the girl and stood in a fighting stance; the girl was standing behind him, and sticking her tongue out at the short man.

The shorter man was angry, "Why you little brat!"

Rom and Chiko smiled with joy when they saw the teenager protecting their friend.

Rom was really happy, "Pigero!"

They teenager, named Pigero, has a bandage on the side of his face and a red head band around his forehead. Katie wasn't sure who he was, but she guessed that he was their leader and defender.

Pigero looked real serious, "That's enough out of you clowns. The girl stays."

The short man just yelled at him, "That's what you think!"

The short man started to display some karate moves as the other two men surrounded Pigero and the girl with police sticks. Unfortunately for them, Pigero turned out to be a fighting machine! The short man charged, only to get karate-chopped on the back; the big man came at them with full force, but Pigero punched him in the gut as the girl ran for cover; and the tall man swung at him, missed, and got a high-kick to the jaw by Pigero! The three men fell in defeat as Pigero took the girl to a tree; Katie was so amazed that a teenage boy could take on three grown men on his own! The woman stood in shock from the fighting, and the rest of the orphans started to pelt her with rocks! She protected her head with her arms as the kids continued to attack; when they stopped, she turned to them with a serious look.

The woman sounded pretty serious, "That's enough now! We're not here to hurt you, children! We just want to take you to a place where can have new clothes, and hot meals, and a bed to sleep in."

Chiko was wide-eyed as she looked at Rom, "Hear that?"

Rom scoffs at her, "Come on! She's lying, dummy!"

The kids were not convinced.

Pigero yelled at them, "We don't want all that stuff! Just leave!"

The woman tried to reason with them, "What about the other children? The small ones? Maybe some of them want a home to live in?"

Pigero was still serious, "We all had homes before the tidal wave hit! If you really wanna give us nice things, that's fine! Just bring them over here!"

The kids cheered for their leader, "That's right! You tell them Pigero! Whoo Hoo!"

The men and woman had no choice but to back off, for now. They all got into their van and drove off.

The big man shouted as they left, "We'll be back!" And they drove away until they were out of sight.

The kids paid no mind and just cheered for victory; the other children reveal a fox boy in overalls; another in a pilots hat and goggles; and a boy in blue clothes and a blue police hat. Everyone, including Rom, Chiko, and Katie, all climbed down from their trees and was happy to be safe again.

Rom yelled in victory, "We did it!"

The kids were happy, "Alright! Yeah! Hahahaha!"

They all just laughed and smiled as they watched the van disappear out of sight. Katie was happy to see her new friends safe from harm. When Pigero approached the kids, he was curious about Katie; being the new kid, obviously.

Pigero wanted to know who she was, "Is she new?"

Rom nodded at the older boy, "Yeah she is! She was shipwrecked and we found her on the beach."

Of course, Katie just introduced herself.

Katie was polite to Pigero, "Hi, I'm Katie. Nice to meet you."

Chiko smiled as she stood next to Katie, "And since she's the smallest, she gets food everyday now."

Pigero chuckled at small girl, "Nope. You're still the smallest, Chiko."

Chiko pouted and stuck her tongue out, "Mmmm!"

Everyone just laughed with Chiko and their new friend. Pigero stuck out his hand for Katie.

Pigero smiled as he held out his hand, "Hi Katie. My name's Pigero. It's nice to meet you."

She accepted the handshake and got to know everyone else: Jinku, the fox with overalls; Yoodon, Jinkus older twin and goggle boy: Hachi, boy in blue clothes; and Ena, girl in yellow dress. For most of the day, Katie played tag with Rom and Chiko; watched Jinku and Hachi wrestle; and got to stand on top of one of the abandoned buildings with Pigero. She was having so much fun with her new friends, she forgot to tell them about her quest to find her father. Will she ever tell them the truth?

To Be Continued...

End Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

_Now, I know they didn't add the stealing scene in "Escape From Piccolo", but I think it extends the story in the uncut version. This episode is great and I love to watch every now and then. Anyway, I hope you like chapter 3. Sorry if I over did some things._

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><p>Chapter 3: Stealing And Planning<p>

After a little playing, the orphans needed to get some food at the market; Jinku, Ena, Yoodon, and Rom are taking Katie along to help steal the food. They rode their bikes to the market and volunteered Katie to be the distraction. Now, Katie knew that stealing was wrong, but she was hungry and broke like the others, so she had no choice but to go along with it. She walked down the market and found a stand with lots of delicious fruit.

One man just did what venders usually do, "Step right up, ladies and gentleman! I've got the freshest goods in town. These are the juiciest sweetie."

Katie couldn't help but drool at the sight of the food; but, she had a job to do. She turned away, looked both sides, and started crying and clutching her stomach in "pain".

Katie screamed in agony, "Ahhhh! Owww! Ohhhh!"

That got everyones attention as they all rushed to help the "aching" child.

A woman ran to Katies side, "Oh, the poor dear!" They don't know that she's faking.

Once the venders were away from their tents, that was the signal for the kids to get the goodies.

Rom whispered and motioned to Yoodon, "Let's go!"

As Katie continued to holler, the kids went into tents and gathered as much food as they could carry. However, when one of the venders noticed that one of the apples was at his feet, he turned around and saw Jinku and Ena stealing the fruit! The kids noticed and quickly ran out of the tent as a woman saw Rom and Yoodon stealing from her tent and started chasing them!

The woman turned angry as she ran, "Hey! You rotten kids! I'll get you!" But, she couldn't catch them if she could.

That gave Katie a chance to follow Ena and Jinku. To ditch the vender, they jumped off the wall and onto one of the tents! The vender couldn't chase them any further.

The man groaned in defeat, "Ah! Curses!"

All kids made it to the bikes as one of the bystanders just informed a police officer!

Another man pointed where the kids went, "They went that way!"

And the chase is on! With Rom and Yoodon on one bike and Jinku, Ena, and Katie on the other, they had to pick up some serious speed to lose the officer!

Yoodon was really worried, "Faster Rom! Faster!"

They crossed the bridge and entered the other streets of the city.

The officer yelled for them to halt, "Stop you thieves! I said stop!"

The kids turned around the corner as the officer was right on their tail! They turned to another corner where the officer didn't pay attention and crashed right into a flower tent! The kids cheered as the officer yelled in the distance; and was he hopping mad (literaly)!

Rom cheered in victory, "Oh yeah!"

The officer was really angry, "I'll get you kids for this!"

The kids ignored him as continued to ride in a steady pace. Rom, real quickly, turned to Katie.

Rom as he spoke to Katie, "That was fun, wasn't it?"

Katie nodded to him, "Yeah!"

Yoodon smirked as he spoke to his friends "Who needs parents? We sure don't! Haha!"

Ena nodded in agreement, "You bet!"

Jinku just smiled at his brother, "We do just fine. We're a family now."

Then, Ena turned to Katie, who frowned for some reason.

Ena as she turned to her friend, "Isn't that great?"

Katie sighed as she tried to smile again, "Yeah, sure." She didn't want to ruin the moment with her pals.

The reason Katie didn't sound happy was because she still had to find her father. She was silent for the rest of the way and thought about leaving her friends to continue her search; however, it would be hard for her to leave her new friends...again. Later that night, after a good meal and everyone went to bed, Katie was the only kid up and decided to leave while she still can. She got up carefully, so not to disturb Rom and Chiko; puts on her shoes; looked at them on last time; and quietly walked out of the room and walked downstairs. Outside, Pigero was sitting up in a tree, thinking about the awful tidal wave that destroyed his hometown and killed his parents.

Pigero was deep in thought about that day, "_I remember that tidal wave like it happened yesterday."_

Pigero brought up every detail that happened on that tragic day. He flinched when he replayed the tidal wave crash in his head. He calmed down as he saw Katie coming out of the building.

Pigero looked down and saw her, "Hey Katie. What's up?"

The girl looked up as she saw the teenaged boy in the tree.

Katie smiled slightly at the teenager, "Hey, what are you doing up so late?"

Pigero grinned as he spoke, "I'm on guard. Sometimes, the workers from the Home come at night. I do night duty ever since Rom nodded off and fell out of the tree. So, what's up with you? You must have something on your mind if you're up this late."

Pigero jumped out of the tree and stood in front of Katie. She felt guilty about deceiving all her friends so...she swallowed her pride and started to tell the truth.

Katie sighed deeply when she explained, "Well, I'm not really an orphan. When I was shipwrecked, I was on my way to another city to look for my father." The truth was out.

Pigero sighed as he took a few steps to the side, "Hm. I see."

Rom was at the doorway, "Oh. So you do have a home."

Katie turned around to see that everyone woke up and overheard her. Now, she felt really guilty; she looked at the ground in shame.

Katie looked down with her face full of guilt, "Sorry, you guys. I just couldn't say it."

Then, Pigero approached her with a comforting smile.

Pigero smiled as he looked at her, "Hey, don't worry about it. It's cool."

Rom shrugged as Katie turned to him, "Yeah, I really didn't give you the chance to tell us."

Pigero wanted to ask her something, "So, where you headed?"

Katie told him where she wanted to go, "I think it was a place located near Sarayashiki Jr. High."

Luckily for her, Pigero knew what she was talking about.

Pigero was more than happy to tell her, "Hey, that's just a little ways inland from here."

Katie was surprised to hear that, "Wow! Seriously?"

Pigero nodded at that, "Uh-huh."

Katie became interested, "Hey, if you know where it is, can you show me?"

Pigero agreed to take her, "No problem! I'll take you over there tomorrow."

Katie was extremely grateful, "Man, thank you!"

Katie was happy that Pigero would help her out. But, right now, it's the kids turn to ask the questions.

Jinku wanted to know something, "Hey. So, what's your dad like, Katie?"

Katie shrugged at the question, "Well, I'm not really sure; I hardly knew him when I was a baby. Before, I went to search for him, my foster parents got me into studying a little." She reads a lot and loved to go to school.

Rom sighed when he spoke, "I guess I could study if I had to."

Chiko protested at the thought, "No way! Not me!"

Ena was sitting on the edge of the window.

Ena was a little calm, "Oh, it's not that bad."

Katie added something to the subject, "You get to play some."

Chiko smiled at what Katie said, "Oh, wow! Really?"

Katie shrugged at her, 'Yeah. Not enough, though. But it's better than nothing." That's true; a little playtime is better than none at all.

Hachi nodded as he metioned somethiong too, "You know, all of these big cities are only a hundred years old. Before that, kids didn't even have to go to school; they just worked on a farm."

Rom was a little amazed, "Wow! Cool!"

Jinku agreed to that, "Yeah!"

Ena added something to that, "Yeah, lost of people never went to school."

She jumped down.

Jinku was wondering about something, "That must have been cool to just live on the land before all this junk was built."

Pigero sighed as he spoke at last, "I hear ya. We could've done things differently."

Rom was curious about what he said, "Well, what'd we do differently?"

Pigero wanted to mention his ideas, "Well, for starters, we'd set aside a beautiful place for orphans."

Yoodon joined in on the talk, "Yeah and we wouldn't be too busy to spend time with them."

Hachi shook his head on one matter, "No cars and highways. Nope!"

Rom grinned as he put in an exception, "Except ice-cream trucks. Those are okay."

Everyone laughed at Roms little remark. Then, Pigero has just hatched an idea.

Pigero grinned widely as he told his idea, "Hey! What do you say if we all drove Katie to the city tomorrow and drop her off?"

Chiko cheered in agreement, "Yay! That's great!"

Jinku was a little curious though, "But, how are we gonna do that?"

Everyone was asking the same thing, "Yeah! What is it? Come on? Please?"

Pigero began to discuss his plan, "I have a plan. Listen up..."

And for the rest of the night, Pigero explained to the kids about his idea. The plan is: Tomorrow morning, when the social workers come, they'll steal the van and drive Katie to the city and drop her off there. But, the real question is: Will it work? Find out in the final chapter!

To Be Continued...

End Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

_Here's the final chapter! Now, I can honestly say that I did really well with this story. I hoped you all enjoyed it.  
>Again, I don't Dragonball Z or anything.<br>Katie is my adopted OC._

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><p>Chapter 4: Backfire and Betrayel<p>

When morning came, everyone was bright and alert. They stood watch for the workers to come, but they haven't shown up yet; which was odd, because those workers come around at the usual time. As most of the kids waited in the buildings, Yoodon watched over on the roof with his binoculars, while Pigero watched next to a bush. They started to grow more and more suspicious with every passing minute.

Pigero as he looked at Yoodon, "No sign?"

Yoodon shook his head from above, "Not yet!"

Pigero became a little suspicious: "They're late today." He had a feeling that something was up.

Inside, Katie and Rom were watching from a window.

Rom shrugged as he looked outside, "Maybe they've finally given up."

Katie couldn't help but agree. The workers were never this late before. As it would seem that the plan was a folly, Yoodon spotted the van coming in their direction.

Yoodon chuckled once he saw them, "Hey, here they come!"

Pigero yelled to his friends, "Places everybody!" He jumped from the gate and ran behind a bush.

Everyone hid as the van stopped when they reached the place and only the three men got out. Then, the kids started to throw tons of rock at them! When the men started to chase the kids, it gave Pigero the chance to throw the woman out of the van and get inside.

Pigero as he got in, "Sorry!"

He whistled for the kids to get in the back of the van; they all rushed out as the men saw them running towards their van.

The tall worker yelled, "Hey!"

Pigero yelled to his friends, "Hurry up!"

But before everyone could get into the van, Pigero saw a few more cars coming towards them!

Pigero was shocked from what was happening, "Huh! Police! Scramble!" The kids climbed out and gathered around each other. There's no way they could escape now!

Suddenly, Pigero and the kids were surrounded by the cops! This was not good for any of them; they have no chance of escape!

The officer stood next to his car, "Alright kids, it's over."

As their chances of driving off looked grim, the kids had no other choice, but to try and fight their way out. As the police and workers tried to grab them, the kids either ran or fought back! When Katie turned to see the tall worker holding Chiko roughly by her arm, she gave him a quick headbutt to the gut to make him drop Chiko; as she fell down hard, Katie looked to see if Chiko was hurt.

Katie was concerned for her friend, "Chiko! Huh?" Then, she looked to see if the others were okay.

Unfortunately, as for the other kids, it's not going so well; especially for Pigero! When he punched one of the cops for catching Hachi, he was caught by two other men!

Another officer acted real smug to the boy, "Now what, hotshot? Hehehe!"

Katie saw that Pigero was being handcuffed and she sprang into action! With her hand, she gathered as much power as she could and just slammed her palm against the handcuffs and it broke off Pigeros wrist; not to mention she made a hole in the van! When they ran to help the other kids, Pigero watched as he saw his comrades get captured, one-by-one. He started to remember the good times they had and how they praised him as a hero.

He could hear their little voices in his head, "_Hahaha! Yeah! Pigero! You're our hero!"_

Then, he started to understand what the woman said the day before.

He remember what she said, _"What about the other children? Maybe some of them would like a home to live in."_

Suddenly, without warning, he grabbed Katies wrist and bolted for one of the police cars!

Pigero as he started to run, "Come on! Let's go!"

Katie was worried, "But the others!"

Pigero told her, "Never mind!" They just kept running.

The kids watched in shock as their leader and new friend run to the cars and not help them!

Rom yelled for them, "Noooo!"

Chiko screamed as she struggled, "Ahhhh!"

Jinku became scared, "Come back!"

Hachi was in tears, "Pigero!"

One of the workers noticed the two running off and charged at them! Pigero threw Katie in the back seat as he tried to start the car! As the big worker closed in and about to hit them, Pigero got the car going and drove off; leaving his comrades behind.

The kids kept yelling for him, "Pigero!"

They drove away as Katie kept her eyes on her friends and their home before they were out of sight. She couldn't understand why Pigero would leave the others and not help them? She was confused and frustrated at the same time. Pigero didn't look back as he continued to drive at Katies location; they didn't say a word to each other until Pigero stopped next to a forest. Katie got out and started to shake him.

Katie was deeply concerned about his actions, "Hey Pigero! Why? Why did you leave them? You were their hero! Why?"

Pigero grew a little upset and punched Katie on the cheek! As she fell, tears started to form in the teenagers eyes; Katie turned over to glare at him.

Pigero was serious as the tears fell, "You don't understand! I didn't have a choice! I can't take care of them! They need more than I can give them. Those kids need a real home. But, if you go straight into this forest, I'll bet you'll find the city."

Katie dropped her glare and realized that he was right about their friends; those kids wouldn't last long without some parental figures to guide them. Pigero got into the car and started it again, but not before giving Katie a smile as he pulled out.

Pigero smiled bravely at the girl, "Later! You're one tough chick for real! Keep it up." Of course, he saw her power up close.

Katie was curious about him, "Where will you go?"

Pigero shrugged before he left, "I don't know. There's a whole world out there. Good luck finding your dad! See ya!"

As Pigero drove away, Katie could feel his brave tears in the wind; she yelled to him one last message.

Katie yelled to him, "Thank you Pigero! I hope we meet again someday!"

After Pigero was gone, Katie started to run into the forest.

Katie looked determined as she ran, "City, here I come!"

She ran a few miles for what seems like an eternity; but, that didn't stop her from reaching her destination. After about a half an hour of running across different fields...Katie has finally reached the city! She was so happy to be there at last; and yet...she was still a little sad about her orphan friends, who were taken to the Home.

First, she heard Jinku, "_So, what's your dad like Katie?"_

Then, she heard Ena, "_I think it's great that you have a home."_

And finally, she heard Pigero, "_Keep it up, huh? There's a whole world out there."_

Katie eyes started to form tears...but shook them off, for she wanted to be brave for Pigero and the orphans who helped her. She took a deep breath and ventured into town. Katie is halfway through her quest...for her real journey will soon begin!

THE END!


End file.
